Unlike many homeowners, the couple didn't have to worry about small children wandering unattended into the pool area. Their house was being built on a 2-acre lot on a secluded cul-de-sac, which reduced concerns about neighborhood kids gaining access to the pool without supervision. And any second thoughts about building something that wouldn't be used disappeared as soon as the family moved in.
"We used it right from the start," he says.
Fishman admits that while building a pool was definitely his idea, he had little to do with the design other than increasing the size. He credits the couple's interior designer for initially suggesting the squared-U shape of the 65,000-gallon feature. High-Tech Pools of North Olmsted designed and constructed the man-made swimming hole, with depths of 3 1/2 feet, 4 feet and 10 feet to accommodate lap-swimming, game-playing and scuba diving. A raised whirlpool spills over glass-block walls into the pool below, which is illuminated at night by fiber-optic lighting. Other features include a platform entry and traditional slide.
"We toyed with adding a separate cabana," Fishman says. "But there were some code regulations at the time that made it difficult to do a freestanding one." Instead, the couple installed a full bath and changing area in the house, right off the pool area.
While some people are put off by the work involved in maintaining a pool, Fishman says it hasn't been a problem. The family has a maintenance contract with High-Tech Pools, which cleans the pool once a week while it's in use. An electrically powered robot that Fishman compares to "a small R2-D2" helps between cleanings by picking up debris on the pool bottom. And the novelty of having a resort-style amenity in the back yard hasn't worn off. Fishman's wife and now-grown sons continue to use the pool during the day, and the doctor uses it after work and on weekends.
"I think the pool at the club is open late, until 10 p.m. or so," he says. "But it's just so much more convenient to have one here. I just come home and jump right in."
